Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1197258
A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus
Felisa Wolfe-Simon1,2,*, Jodi Switzer Blum2, Thomas R. Kulp2, Gwyneth W. Gordon3, Shelley E. Hoeft2, Jennifer Pett-Ridge4, John F. Stolz5, Samuel M. Webb6, Peter K. Weber4, Paul C. W. Davies1,7, Ariel D. Anbar1,3,8 and Ronald S. Oremland2
+ Author Affiliations
1NASA Astrobiology Institute, USA.
2U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
3School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
4Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
5Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
6Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
7BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
8Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
felisawolfesimon@gmail.com
Abstract
Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, which substitutes arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth. Our data show evidence for arsenate in macromolecules that normally contain phosphate, most notably nucleic acids and proteins. Exchange of one of the major bioelements may have profound evolutionary and geochemical significance.
